MINI Countryman Named IIHS Top Safety Pick

Built as the vehicle which will start a flood of new MINI vehicles, the Countryman is slowly proving its worth across the world. Present in nearly all important markets by now, the model is getting ready to meet the offset barriers of different organizations which plan to put its safety features to the test.

In the US, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) has already done so and found out that the model meets all its criteria. As a result, the model received the organization's Top Safety Pick designation, meaning the model is as safe to drive and crash as they come.

The car apparently managed to perform great in all tests, achieving good ratings for front, side, rollover, and rear impact protection. The achievement is even more important because the Countryman is the first MINI (and the second BMW model, after the new 5 Series) to meet the requirements since the IIHS made the rules tougher and included, as a prerequisite for the Top Safety Pick designation, the good performance for roof strength in rollover crashes.

According to the IIHS, the “roof of the Countryman withstood a force equal to nearly 5 times the car's weight.” That in a time when the federal standard is 1.5 times weight.

In the US, the Countryman sells for $21,650 (for the entry level version) and $25,250 for the S trim. MINI is offering the model in North America complete with additional packages and optional features: Sport pack, the Premium Package ($1,750), the Cold Weather Package ($750) and the Convenience package ($1,250).